—while Abū Ḥāritha rode out on his own mule, and at his side walked his brother Kurz ibn ʿAlqamah. The mule of Abū Ḥāritha stumbled, whereupon Kurz cried out, “May the far-removed one perish!”—intending by that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him.

Abū Ḥāritha rebuked him, saying, “Rather, may you be the one to perish!” Kurz asked, “Why, my brother?” He replied, “By Allah, he is indeed the Prophet we have been waiting for.” Kurz then said, “So what keeps you from joining him when you know this?”

Abū Ḥāritha answered, “Look at what these Emperors have done for us: they have honored us, enriched us, and treated us generously—yet they refuse to follow him. If I were to do so, they would take away everything you can see.”

Kurz ibn ʿAlqamah kept this to himself until, sometime later, he embraced Islam; and—as far as the report has reached me—it was he who used to narrate this incident.

Ibn Hishām said: “It has also come down to me that the leaders of Najrān possessed a book which they passed down, and whenever one of them died…"